Conbility GmbH and Fraunhofer IPT have partnered to develop a placement and tape winding system.
The new PrePro 2D machine system allows for the automated tailored tape placement of UD laminates which can be used for subsequent thermoforming or as stiffening structures in injection molding processes. The machine comprises a rotating and translational table which is moved relatively to the applicator station. The applicator station can be equipped with a single or with multiple spool applicators and cecause of the large process area, a 9 kW IR heater is used for the in-situ-consolidation process.
The 3D system can be used for laser-assisted thermoplastic tape placement, IR-assisted thermoset prepreg placement and dry fiber placement.
This story uses material from Fraunhofer,with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.